Magic The Gathering has released 174 sets in its existence. Many of them have been underwhelming. Some were so underwhelming that Wizards of the Coast itself acknowledged this. There are, however, others that are universally beloved. These sets had excellent limited formats and had impacts in other formats as well. Some of them may have received criticism, but in my opinion, their effects were positive enough to save a format. This will be another controversial article of mine, as I’m sure there are dedicated fanbases for nearly every set.

1. Khans of Tarkir

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This was the first set that I ever played Standard in, so I may be a bit biased. I remember it being so much fun to slam this format. The Pro Tour was fun, the Standard meta was vibrant and varied. All archetypes were supported, and the mana bases were crazy powerful with fetch lands. I also loved the aesthetic of the set. The flavors for each clan were interesting and engaging, and the art was fantastic. Tarkir was so popular that we just went back to it with Tarkir Dragonstorm.

2. Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth

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I know that Universes Beyond is generally quite controversial with Magic players. There are many players who despise Universes Beyond and believe that it is poisoning Magic. I think that even they will agree that the Lord of the Rings set was amazing, though. The cards and mechanics were so flavorful, and the limited format was so interesting. This was the first pre-release I had done in around 6 years, and I had a great time. Its impact on the eternal formats was also heavily felt, pushing and creating new archetypes while punishing old ones.

3. Innistrad

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Innistrad has so many of the most iconic cards played across multiple formats. Snapcaster Mage, Blasphemous Act, Delver of Secrets, Village Bell-Ringer, Liliana of the Veil, the list goes on and on. The introduction of the Flashback mechanic changed so much about how the graveyard is viewed. It was already an extra resource with reanimation spells, but now instead of combo, it could also be value by recurring your instants and sorceries. Innistrad just generally released so many cards that are used often to this day.

4. Zendikar

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Zendikar has a huge number of Commander All-Stars. Sorin Markov, Rite of Replication, and Hellkite Charger are cards that still see play in Commander decks to this day. 3/5 of the Ascension series are played in Commander. Goblin Guide was a staple of aggressive red decks in Modern and Legacy for years, and Bloodghast is a consistent graveyard deck all-star. Mill players can never forget what Zendikar gave them, as well. Archive Trap and Hedron Crab are some of the best mill cards ever printed, and they are both from Zendikar.

5. Return to Ravnica

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The shock land set. The set that had released most closely with my beginning to play Magic. I remember buying the Rakdos starter deck and casting Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch. Supreme Verdict is still considered to be one of the best board wipes ever printed, and Cyclonic Rift was just placed on the Game Changer list. The iconic and mostly banned Deathrite Shaman was a monster in this set. Shock lands completely revolutionized how mana bases were constructed across most formats.

6. Modern Horizons 2

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I know what you’re thinking: “How dare you like Modern Horizons 2? It was so broken and format-warping!” I agree that it was format warping, but in a mostly positive way. Aside from Grief, the set had great impacts on Modern and Legacy. Tempo decks were revolutionized with the printing of Murktide Regent and Dragon’s Rage Channeler. Solitude gave breath to Control Decks and Death and Taxes, one of my favorite archetypes. Finally, Archon of Cruelty became a reanimator all-star across several formats.

7. Bloomburrow

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I don’t think this is a surprising inclusion for the best Magic The Gathering sets. This set seemed almost universally loved for the animal people aesthetic. It had great art, and the cards and mechanics were super interesting as well. Standard has been warped around Mice Aggro since the release of the set. A lot of really interesting commanders were also released in the set. There was enormous support for typal with this set, frogs, squirrels, lizards, rabbits, so many different creatures received typal support and allowed people to go haywire with it.